Are "cheap" Banggood special rc cars killing the hobby?

[Djhammy]

i started out with a zd racing pirates 3 9021 v3 1/8 scale from banggood. it got me started to where im at now with a kraton v5. pretty close in comparison, arrma is a better quality build, and many more aftermarket up grades, now the zd i paid like 300 for vs the 600 kraton, which now has well over 1600 into it, but it shows.

 

[RickRussell_CA]

It wasn't very long ago that Traxxas was the cheap chinese-made competitor to "proper" hobby grade RC cars, back when the Rustler and Stampede were mostly soft plastic held together with sheet metal screws, and they were selling boxed RTRs with generic 540 can motors and cheap radios for $99 at Pep Boys.

But Traxxas turned that market share around into some impressive innovations in the 2000s.

So, everything changes, and there is always price competition at the bottom of the scale. Frankly, the cost of hobby-grade stuff has remained remarkably stable over the years, with brushless displacing brushed, 2.4Ghz packet radios replacing FM, bearings for everything instead of bushings, etc. But the setup you want (with batts & a good charger) will always cost about $1000... it did back then, and does now.

 

[TheBadazz]

I still have chinese rcs. Bison, Cheetah, Zombie, J3Speed, and a couple of others. They are ok, only surface drive them (no jumps). They still work fine, but it was at a time when I couldn't afford a Kraton and Talion and refused to save for them.

Now I use Banggood and Aliexpress for servos, fans, surpass/rocket motors, max 10 esc, 3s shocks, and enclosed wheel nuts.

 

[305HemiGuy]

I started off with Amazon Chinese cars, Bezgar & Holyton to be exact. They introduced me to the world of hobby grade RC's, albeit very entry level. When I first got them I thought they were the baddest, fastest cars on the planet lol. Fast forward a year later & now I have several Arrma rigs as well as a couple other name brand vehicles. The cheap RC cars got me to where I am today, and they were pretty solid for the most part. Some people stop at the cheap banggood cars, and others want more and end up venturing into Arrma, Traxxas, etc., such as myself. I think overall the banggood world of RC'ing has it's pros & cons.

 

[Greengaunja]

Let me say one thing. Cheap doesn't always mean bad.
Last year, a guy in my RC Clubs and I took the kids out to a local BMX dirt track. It was a very dry and hot week so the dirt had a sand consistency.
I had my 1/10 Senton, my son had his ECX Amp. They had a couple 1/10 Amazon Hosim "cheapies". The Amp outperformed my Senton but the Hosims killed both. The reason was I was so overpowered for the conditions that even with punch at 1, I was mostly spinning and having a hard time gaining traction. The RWD Amp was brushed and slower, as were the Hosims. The Hosims gained an edge over the Amp solely because they were 4WD. And they were all making jump after jump, except me. This is one of those times I saw and learned first hand that speed isn't always great.

 

[slick2500]

Let me say one thing. Cheap doesn't always mean bad.
Last year, a guy in my RC Clubs and I took the kids out to a local BMX dirt track. It was a very dry and hot week so the dirt had a sand consistency.
I had my 1/10 Senton, my son had his ECX Amp. They had a couple 1/10 Amazon Hosim "cheapies". The Amp outperformed my Senton but the Hosims killed both. The reason was I was so overpowered for the conditions that even with punch at 1, I was mostly spinning and having a hard time gaining traction. The RWD Amp was brushed and slower, as were the Hosims. The Hosims gained an edge over the Amp solely because they were 4WD. And they were all making jump after jump, except me. This is one of those times I saw and learned first hand that speed isn't always great.

Was it the Hosim 9125? Hosim 1:10 Scale 46+ KMH High Speed Radio Control All Terrains Off Road Monster Truck, 40+ Min Play, Black https://a.co/d/3BfiUbb my nephew had one of those not sure how but somehow he managed to completely destroy the truck.

Yup when your rc only goes 20mph it's really hard to break things. My Ecx Ruckus didn't break a single thing until I went brushless with lipo, then I started to break stuff a lot

 

[Freelander]

cheep and new doesn't mean good .

They're fun chassis' with less desirable drivetrains and are expensive to upgrade electronics and motor.

They're more a gateway drug than detriment to the hobby.